Ne'er cast a clout

That's what we are told, with the qualification, "Till May be out".  Well, the may is now out, although there are still some very tight buds.

 It has really only come into flower this week, probably due to the warm weather we had.  Earlier this week, a day or three before it could really be called "out", the OB and I cast off a clout or two - only to put them back today now that it is in bloom!  Turned right chilly today, it has!

As the dog and I go into the Ladies Mile nature reserve for a walk we pass an apple tree which is now full of blossom.

There is also plenty of blossom on the one and only crab apple tree, but most of it is on one side! Still, it bodes well for the OB wanting to make crab apple jelly later in the year.

I was also very pleased to see a flock of swifts on Thursday afternoon, the first this year.  Mind you, it was a very small flock - just three birds!  But it reminded me of one of my summer delights, sitting at an outdoor table for dinner at one of the restaurants in the square in Chateaubriant and watching (and listening to) the multitude of swifts swirling and screaming around the church tower.  With luck, just a few weeks away.